Original subtitles

by two separate yet equally important groups:

by two separate yet equally important groups:

the police, who investigate crime

and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Stephen Leder takes the subway.

Stephen Leder didn't move to New York six months ago.

Nobody else gets walked to school.

That's not true.

I know for a fact Stacy Lake gets walked to school by her mom.

Stacy Lake is a girl.

So is her mom.

What's the matter?

It's sticky.

Let me see.

Wait right here.

What is it?

I want you to go on in.

You're not going to walk me in?

Do as I say, right now.

Kid and his father

found him this morning.

Do we know who he is?

No wallet, no ID.

He took a slug to the chest

near the neck, close range.

Looks like a second bullet grazed him.

Stickup gone bad?

Well, let's set up a 100-foot perimeter.

Maybe we'll get lucky with ballistics.

There's a lot of this red dust on his clothes.

Probably from this wall over here.

The school just finished sandblasting the facade.

There's a key on the end of this chain.

I don't suppose his address is on it.

Make it easy, wouldn't it?

Mm. He looks too young to be a teacher.

Headmistress was at a board meeting this morning.

She's on her way.

Headmistress?

As schools go, Wilshire is the Ritz.

Yeah, well, somebody better tell them

they just lost their four-star rating.

[Captioning sponsored by STUDIOS USA TELEVISION

and NBC]

He's not from the school.

Not a parent either as far as we know.

So, how would he get on the school grounds?

Gate's closed around 5:00

but the nighttime custodian keeps a side door open

until just after 8:00...

Paul Miller, Justin Menkies.

Your homeroom teacher's waiting.

Any discipline problems we should know about?

If there's any problem in this neighborhood

I can assure you it's not at Wilshire.

Meaning?

Meaning we've had trouble

since the city opened that residence around the corner.

Homeless shelter?

A transitional center

for recovering substance abusers.

We had a teacher mugged not two months ago.

Maybe somebody had another relapse.

Every time somebody trips in this neighborhood

we get a visit from you guys.

We heard one of your residents got popped

for robbing a teacher a couple months ago.

How come nobody runs for cover when they see

our guys picking litter off the ground?

Maybe because people don't know who they really are.

How about last night?

Anybody from the center out and about?

Curfew's 8:00.

So, you do a bed check? What?

It's not a correctional facility, Detective.

Meaning what?

We work on the honor system.

We're going to need a list

of all your residents.

We're already into it, Chief.

That's right.

Thank you.

Well, it seems the concerned parents

at the Wilshire School carry some weight.

Anything turn up at that shelter?

Transitional residence.

Almost all of their guys have sheets.

Mostly drug-related.

Well, I guess their concerns are justified.

The director swears they were

all in for the evening.

What about the M.E.'s findings?

Kid was shot with a .38.

Alcohol level over the limit.

Ed, got that forensics report.

They might be able to lift a set of partials

from that pack of smokes.

Also, may have gotten something on your key.

Not just a house key, Detective. A Medeco.

Yeah, it's a good lock, so?

Every one of them's cut differently.

Some even require ID cards to replace.

See this stamp?

Mean's it's part of a master key system.

So, there's got to be thousands

of those floating around.

Yeah, but this one's a real granddaddy.

So, you're saying we can actually trace this back to its owner?

Maybe halfway.

I called Medeco.

They say the key was part of a shipment

to Fields Hardware back in '72.

Here's a fax copy of the order slip.

Look, can we make this quick?

I'm 30 yards short on a concrete pour.

Okay. We're just trying to track down a set of locks

you guys purchased through Fields Hardware.

Fields? Uh-huh.

My old man did business with them.

They've been out of business

probably 20 years.

We know, but we traced this order

for some locks to you guys.

Look, the last time I cooperated with you guys

I got 17 union violations.

Hey, we're not interested

in who's buried in the Meadowlands, Mr. Panero.

'72?

My old man ran the business then.

Order this small would have been for a residential building.

We put up a bunch of postwars around that time.

Mostly near Union Square.

Could've belonged to any one

of 100 apartments here

and that's just in this building.

There's four others just like it in this neighborhood.

All of them use Medecos.

Yeah, we know. We've been.

Hey, Ray. Mm-hmm?

You recognize this kid?

I can't say I do.

Recognize the T-shirt.

The T-shirt?

The logo.

A few years ago, a theater group threw a benefit.

I helped them put up some posters;

it looked just like that.

What's that lady's name? The one who runs it?

The one who lives down the block on Gramercy Square.

Mrs. Dubow?

That's the one, yeah.

They're called Booth Scholarships

so underprivileged kids can study theater.

Edwin Booth. Greatest American actor of his day.

His brother killed Abraham Lincoln.

John Wilkes.

Never the actor Edwin was.

Yeah, but a better shot.

Uh, is this kid one of the scholarship winners?

Oh, my God, that's Peter and Johanna Wilder's boy Scott.

Peter Wilder?

The real estate developer?

What happened to him?

You say Scott's body was found in the schoolyard?

That's right.

Maybe he was coming home.

Hmm.

Scott attended school at Wilshire when he was younger.

The truth is, we, um... haven't seen our son

in some time.

This was him the day he graduated.

Good-looking kid.

Why is it, uh

you haven't been in contact with him?

Scott, uh, dropped out of college a few years ago.

He refused to take any real job.

He was having a hard time finding himself.

My wife liked to make excuses for our son

but it was pretty obvious

that by continuing to support him

we were just preventing him from growing up.

So you stopped?

I don't know if either of you ever had a child make decisions

you knew were destructive.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to do...

to tell him he couldn't stay with us.

That was almost two years ago.

Do you have any idea what Scott did

to support himself?

Um... the last time I spoke to him

he was working at a bike shop.

A place on Canal

and Sixth.

I gave him this key the day he left.

I told him no matter what

no matter what was happening in his life

he could always use it to come home.

Scott? No, Scott hasn't been by in over a month.

Why? Something happen?

No, he just didn't show.

The way it worked was he'd come by mostly weekends

revalve a few shocks

straighten out a few derailleurs.

I gave him cash all the time

depending upon how many bikes he did

but it wasn't a regular thing.

Do you have a number for him? Some place you could call?

I think he lived with a girlfriend

but I never got a number.

How about these guys-- anybody friendly with him?

Uh, maybe. Check it out.

So, you don't even know his girlfriend's name?

No, we just worked together sometimes.

The subject of chicks never came up?

He's getting buck; why am I going to want her number?

This guy's like a real gentleman.

Yeah, his piece, right? Scott was real personal.

I don't think he'd even like me talking about it.

I don't think he'd mind too much now.

Oh, yeah?

Scott's dead, Adam.

So if you do know

who he was hooked up with

we'd appreciate it if you told us.

Her name's Karen.

I don't know where she lives, but I know where she might work.

How?

How'd it happen?

He got shot.

You don't seem too surprised.

I knew something like this could happen.

Now, why would you think that?

When I first met Scott, he was a mess.

His dad kicked him out of his house, did you know that?

From what we heard

Scott was pretty much responsible for his own problems.

Scott did things to get back at his father.

What kind of things?

Used drugs, sold drugs.

Scott thought his father was this big fake.

A guy who pretended to be a big family man

a big charity giver

but would just never deal with his own son.

So, by destroying his own life

he gets even with his father?

Sounds like a great plan.

I thought Scott finally got it--

was ready to move on.

But?

A few weeks ago, I come home

and find some money in a drawer...

a thousand dollars.

Did you ask him where he got it?

He wouldn't tell me.

So I used the money to pay the rent and told him to leave.

Sounds like you did the right thing.

Where did he go?

I don't know.

Excuse me.

Green.

What about other people Scott worked with?

No... I mean, way back, there was this one guy, Richie

but since then.

Richie have a last name?

We never met.

Yeah, thanks.

Lennie. That was forensics.

They got a match on the partials from the pack of cigarettes.

Okay.

Uh, if we have any other questions

we'll be in touch.

Do his parents know?

Yeah.

Do they even care?

Greg Carter?

Yeah. You want to stop sweeping?

We'd like a word with you.

What's this about?

You recognize this guy?

No.

His body turned up at that school over there.

Yeah, I wouldn't know anything about that.

What about your prints being

on a pack of cigarettes

we found in his pocket?

What do you know about that?

You smoke, Greg?

What happened, Greg? You get a little craving?

You need a little money for something?

Sure, robbery gone bad. Happens all the time.

My problem's with the bottle, man.

I don't touch that other stuff.

Well, tell us what you did with the gun?

I told you, kid gave me a cigarette.

I didn't have any gun.

What time was that?

Look, I'm out after curfew, I could lose my room.

You could lose a whole lot more than that

if you don't tell us the truth.

I tell you what I saw, you'll make it right for me?

I mean, at the program?

You're going to have to make this right on your own, Greg.

I was having a hard time that night.

It gets like that for me sometimes.

I had to get out, you know?

Anyway, I see this kid out by the school having a smoke

so I stopped and asked him for one.

I hope for your sake that's not the end of the story.

No, I went to this little store across the street, right?

Bought a soda.

When I come out, I see this kid arguing

with somebody.

Okay, what did this somebody look like?

It was a girl.

White. About his age.

Tall... short brown hair.

He said she was carrying a dark backpack with reflective strips.

Yeah, is there a Richie there?

Thanks, sorry to bother you.

What about his ex? Short blonde hair.

And we think this guy's telling the truth?

He seems like a drunk trying to make the grade; can't hack it.

What about this other angle, this Richie?

We've been going through

the girlfriend's phone records, making calls.

All we know is they ordered a lot of takeout

but no Richie.

Lieutenant, there's a Detective Lopez

here to see you.

How can we help you, Detective?

You tell me. Somebody paged me about an hour ago.

You plainclothes?

Narcotics. How'd you guys get my number?

Yeah, that's the kid.

We met once, in Central Park, by the bandstand.

Made a small buy.

Why didn't you arrest him?

We were waiting on a bigger fish.

How big a fish you after?

That's Peter Wilder's son.

The real estate guy?

I'm going to crack Richie's skull.

Richie?

Punk C.I.

He's the one who brought me this kid.

What? You guys know him?

We're waiting to be formally introduced.

You been a bad boy, Richie.

Look at me.

Didn't I tell you

there couldn't be any secrets between us?

Look... No, no, no, no. You look.

You're going to talk to these homicide detectives

about this dead kid.

I hear you held back, Richie

I'm going to make arrests

you don't want me to make.

On complaints you don't want to sign.

You understand?

This is all yours.

Make me proud

Richie.

He thinks you cost him a promotion.

I guess nothing works out the way you hoped.

Things didn't work out too good

for Scott Wilder either.

I don't know anything about this.

Fine by us.

Look...

all I know is...

I don't hear from Scott for, like, a year

and then suddenly he calls me up

and pushes me to help him move some coke.

You sure it was him pushing you?

He said he needed money right away.

Mmm. So you hooked him up?

We used to run together.

Then he got out.

At least I thought he did.

Then I get this call, and he shows up

with his girlfriend.

What did this girl look like?

Maybe 20, 21, short brown hair, pretty.

What was she wearing?

Suede jacket. Brown.

She carrying a backpack?

Yeah, now you say it, I think so.

She have a name?

This girl didn't say anything.

I got the feeling she didn't want to be there.

Where did this little meeting take place?

McDonald's. Boerum Hill.

Scott said he was staying nearby.

So you got him

back on coke, then you introduced him to an undercover.

That about the size of it?

Hey, I don't make the introduction

I breach my agreement.

But I never told Lopez who Scott was

and I kept the sale under an ounce.

Karen, we think that Scott was seeing another girl.

We also think she might have been involved

in what happened to him.

I know this is tough

but any chance you throwing him out

had anything to do with her?

He really broke my heart

you know?

Yeah. I do.

So, you did know about her.

Not who she is, but...

When I found the money, I also found this.

I don't know why I even carry

the damn thing around with me.

"Alan Rosenbeck, OB/GYN."

It's an appointment card.

I take it

the appointment wasn't for you.

And the writing on the back-- it's not Scott's.

I'm afraid all I can say

is that Scott Wilder was a patient.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Doc

but as far as I can tell

Scott Wilder couldn't have been pregnant.

And if he just accompanied some girl here

that doesn't make him a patient.

Look, I'm just not comfortable

getting into specific treatments with you.

All right, how about you just tell us

the girl's name.

From what you've been telling me

I understand

what's at stake, but...

What if we got written consent from the parents?

That's only half

the equation.

I can't violate one patient's privacy

at the request of another.

I really am sorry.

A guy goes to see an OB/GYN for one of two reasons.

Either he wants to be a father, or he doesn't.

Hard to believe fatherhood was

at the top of this kid's list.

Either way, without a steady job

he'd have had a hard time paying for one on Park Avenue.

Yeah, well, enter drugs as a career opportunity.

And Karen seizes the proceeds to pay the rent.

Maybe he swallowed his pride.

Well, the parents said they hadn't seen him.

I don't care how much you hate your father.

You still go see him when you're in trouble.

My daughter never did.

Hey, man, hold on a second.

Hey, how you doing, man?

Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions

about your building's sign-in sheet?

Scott was seen

arguing with her at the crime scene

the night of the murder.

It wasn't the woman he was living with.

The doctor wouldn't tell you anything about her?

Not without the other patient's consent.

We might have a grandchild out there somewhere.

You don't have any idea who she is?

This is the sign-in sheet

from the doctor's lobby

the day your son had an appointment.

I hope you can recognize the name.

We told you, we hadn't heard anything about our son

in over two years.

We understand what the situation was.

It's just sometimes it's tough

keeping such a hard line with your kids.

A woman did call once looking for Scott.

When was that?

Maybe eight weeks ago.

You never told me that.

I just didn't want

to start all that again with you and Scott.

I thought we agreed.

You agreed.

We both did.

The counselor told us

we had to let him go.

That it was the only way.

Don't rewrite history, Johanna.

Did you get a name, a number for this girl?

We only spoke for a moment or two.

When I told her Scott wasn't here

she just hung up.

Wait. Wait-- here.

Jessie. I think that's it.

Wilder didn't sign in, and from the handwriting

it could be, like, a Jessie Lucas, Logan--

it's hard to tell.

Well, those are pretty common names.

The handwriting matches the one

on the back of the appointment card.

If it's the same girl he took with him to see Lopez' C.I.

she probably lives somewhere near Boerum Hill.

What's the D.A.'s position

on the subpoena for the doctor?

They're working on it.

Okay. In the meantime

let's get some of our people on the Brooklyn phone books

have D.M.V. run all the possibles

see if we can get an address on anyone matching our description.

12th time's the charm?

Jessie left for the store

about 15 minutes ago.

She ought to be back any second.

Is this your daughter, Ms. Lucas?

Yes.

She still wear her hair like this?

No, it's shorter.

Look, you guys haven't told me

what this is all about.

We just need to talk to her.

Mom, what's going on?

These are police officers.

They want to ask you some questions.

About what?

Scott Wilder.

Jess.

Maybe we should talk someplace else.

Am I under arrest?

What for? What did you do?

I didn't do anything.

We've got a witness who put you at the crime scene

arguing with him.

I didn't kill him.

We know you made a drug buy with him, Jessie.

Yeah, a drug buy you didn't seem too happy about.

What happened? He rip you off?

Is that it?

It was nothing like that.

Then what was the argument about?

It wouldn't have anything to do

with a doctor's appointment, would it?

Do you know what I think?

I think he got you pregnant, and then

he didn't want the baby.

That's sick.

Or maybe he didn't want you.

I mean, he's sleeping with you

he's living with another woman.

That couldn't make you feel good.

Will you please just stop?!

Then you find out that he won't pay

only you know about his family.

You know that he comes from money.

No!

You called his parents' house one day.

What was that, a shakedown?

No, you don't understand.

Scott wasn't my lover, or my boyfriend.

We were brother and sister, okay?!

Brother and sister!

And I want a lawyer.

Brother and sister...

so much for our theory about a lover's quarrel.

And she lawyered up.

But my detectives did some digging on the Internet.

And it seems this doctor authored several papers

on kinship analysis.

Kinship analysis?

Yeah, it's a paternity test

when the parents aren't available.

Yeah, but I just haven't heard of too many cases

where the mother doesn't know.

It looks like she was trying to prove

Peter Wilder was her father

using his son to do it.

So why kill him?

It's got to have something to do with that test.

But her physician is refusing

to release her file.

So, we were hoping you could nudge him a little.

Yes, I love litigating in the dark.

Ms. Carmichael?

Your Honor, we're requesting a subpoena

releasing Scott Wilder's medical file.

I see I have a written waiver

from the deceased's parents.

What's the complication?

Release of these records

would violate my client's

doctor-patient privilege.

His client shouldn't be allowed to control

the medical information

of anyone else.

Judge, the results of the kinship analysis

contains physical data contributed by my client.

Which means

you can't release one without revealing

information about the other.

Your Honor, even if that's true

she gave up any privilege when she volunteered

the results of the analysis

to the police.

Her statement to the police wasn't voluntary.

It was the product of interrogation.

There's also the issue of self-incrimination.

The DA's just trying to get these records

so they can find a motive

to a crime my client isn't even charged with.

What about it, Ms. Carmichael?

We're just trying to ascertain the facts, Your Honor.

Sounds more like

you're fishing for them.

In any event, at this point she's not a defendant

and without a charge

I'm afraid the People

have not met their burden.

Subpoena denied.

So now all we have is a witness

who puts her at the school arguing with him.

And we still don't know what the argument was about.

Not to mention a lawyer who won't let her say a word.

Maybe she doesn't have to.

Say it's true.

Say you just discovered

you're the daughter of a very wealthy man.

What would you want from him?

Acknowledgment...

money, contact.

So where would you start?

You feeling like a little man-to-man?

My purpose in asking these questions

is not to pry into your life, Mr. Wilder.

You think this girl killed him?

A witness places her with your son that night.

Another puts her with Scott at a drug buy.

At this point she's a suspect.

It's all so incredible.

Is she your daughter?

I honestly don't know.

I had an affair with her mother

a long time ago.

And you've never taken

a paternity test?

We advised against it.

But I've given this woman whatever financial support

she's asked for.

Submitting to a paternity test

results in a loss of control over the situation.

Even with small odds.

I wasn't about to play Russian roulette

with child support.

Look... my wife knows nothing about this.

Were you aware that Jessie had made contact with your son?

No.

But about six months ago

I'm sitting at my desk

and a receptionist calls me and tells me

my daughter's on line three.

You spoke to her?

Truth is, we just hoped she'd go away.

What other contact did you have with her?

Never face-to-face.

After all these years, what was the point?

But she kept calling.

So what did you do?

I contacted her mother.

Brenda had no idea what her daughter was doing.

She made a promise

that it would stop.

It didn't.

That's the letter Mr. Wilder received from Jessie.

In it, she threatens to sell her story

to the tabloids.

"...unless you pay $250,000."

I decided to let my lawyers handle it.

His lawyer told Jessie Lucas

she'd be committing a felony

if she persisted in her demands.

Just what a girl wants to hear from her father.

Wilder also threatened to terminate

his financial support for Brenda Lucas.

Nothing like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Which might explain why she'd kill Peter Wilder.

But his son?

By all accounts Scott Wilder was helping her.

Well, maybe she didn't want to share

any of her newfound inheritance.

Or maybe he was part of the plot

and in the end somehow

tried to double-cross her.

Why not revenge?

Or any other reason for that matter?

We could pick her up.

I'm not arresting her for homicide

based on speculation.

An arrest could give us leverage

with her or her mother.

Ms. Lucas, is your daughter home?

She's in her room.

Would you ask her to come out, please?

Why?

Mom?

Jessie Lucas

we have a warrant for your arrest.

My daughter did not kill Scott Wilder.

The charge isn't murder, Ms. Lucas...

it's extortion.

I came here on my own.

You can't force me to testify against my own daughter.

Actually we can.

What purpose

would that serve?

Peter Wilder tells us

you knew of your daughter's efforts to contact him.

Peter Wilder's a bastard.

Being a bastard isn't a defense to blackmail.

Yeah, well, it ought to be.

It ought to be a defense to anything she did.

Including murder?

Peter Wilder would never agree to anything.

He always threatened me with money.

And all this time, my daughter is growing up believing

that he's her father.

You know, he could've put a stop to this a long time ago

if he'd just...

Jessie didn't kill his son.

Scott was helping her

for God's sake.

Helping her extort her father?

You can answer our questions now

or you can answer them later

in front of a grand jury, Ms. Lucas.

I was a different person when I knew Peter.

I was dating several men.

It's a little difficult to tell your daughter

you don't know who...

What did you tell her?

One day she saw me looking at a newspaper photograph of Peter.

He was standing there with his wife...

with Scott.

Anyway, Jessie just asked me

"Is that my daddy?"

She was eight years old...

and the look in her eye...

She needed my answer to be "yes."

Can you understand that?

I couldn't deny her that. I just couldn't.

Only I didn't know then that it wasn't true.

I can't believe she gave you this.

You believed this man

was your father for a long time.

Until the kinship analysis

told you he wasn't.

It must've come as quite a shock

when you discovered

Peter Wilder wasn't your father.

Only you weren't going to let that

get in the way

of a little extortion, were you?

Don't answer her.

It has to have been difficult...

seeing this family sailing through life year after year

while you and your mother struggled.

But none of it was real.

You knew that the moment you saw the test results.

Which means Scott knew, too.

Killing him would've been the only way

the truth would never be known.

You're charging her with murder?

We have motive

we have opportunity.

The only thing we don't have is a murder weapon.

Jess, you have to tell them.

I can't.

I've already done enough.

How does being convicted

of a crime you didn't commit help anyone?

Counselor, if there's something to say...

now would be the time.

Jess, please... just tell them.

I was wrong about all of it...

about Peter Wilder being my father

Scott... all of it.

I just wanted to make him notice me.

Peter Wilder?

I really believed he was my father.

I mean, I would look at his picture and just know

that he was my dad.

And I couldn't understand why he didn't love me.

I couldn't understand what was wrong with me.

How my own father

could just... pretend I didn't exist.

When finally I realized

that money was the only thing important to him.

So you had Scott help you blackmail his father?

But I was wrong about Scott, too.

He wasn't happy.

Not the way I'd imagined.

Scott hated his father.

What happened that night?

Scott and I were supposed to meet him at the school.

But standing there

knowing the truth...

I wanted nothing from this man.

So I told Scott I couldn't do it.

And then I left.

Scott wasn't the one who backed out that night...

I was.

If Jessie's telling the truth

she and Scott arranged to meet Wilder

at the school that night to receive the payoff.

Only once the kinship analysis proved

that he wasn't her father, she couldn't go through with it.

Apparently, the son still wanted to go forward.

His relationship with the father is that bad?

Wilder himself admitted that he hadn't spoken

with his son in over two years.

Okay. The boy's on drugs.

Obviously nothing else is working.

What could be more painful for any parent than to tell

their kid to get out?

He seemed to have no problem doing it to Jessie Lucas.

He wasn't her father.

But he never knew that.

And by his own admission

he fought against ever finding out.

All that time leaving this girl

growing up with the delusion that he was her father.

Why would Wilder kill his boy?

My guess, Wilder couldn't stand the betrayal.

Why didn't she say this to the police

the first time she was questioned?

Well, if not for the lawyers, she probably would have.

In any event, she would have been admitting to extortion.

And there was always Wilder's threat

to cut off the mother.

Do we have anything

to corroborate her story?

Two days before Scott Wilder's death

Mr. Wilder withdrew $250,000

from a brokerage account.

The exact amount of the extortion demand.

And...

Mr. Wilder has a .38 caliber handgun

registered in his name.

Get a warrant.

I don't understand

how you can come into our home

and makes these accusations.

He was our son, do you understand?

Our only child.

How can you even think

we had anything to do with this?

Just calm down.

It's going to be okay.

No, it's not.

Nothing's ever going to be okay again.

Do you have any safes in the house, Mr. Wilder?

Any private lockboxes?

No.

It's just that we don't like

to destroy personal property

unless we have to.

I told you "no."

Mr. Wilder, would you mind coming here?

We need you to show us the clothes you were wearing

the night of your son's death.

I don't think I can remember what I was wearing that night.

Well, do you wear the same coat every day, the same shoes?

Uh, the same coat-- a gray overcoat.

It's here in the closet.

There's a few different shoes I could have been wearing.

They're upstairs.

Bag the coat.

I'm going to check upstairs for the shoes.

Peter? Johanna?

Oh, Stephen...

Thank God you're here.

I came as quickly as I could.

I'm Mr. Wilder's attorney.

What's going on?

We have a search warrant.

I'd like to see it if you don't mind.

They're going through everything.

They want his coat, his shoes.

For what purpose?

It's not because we're cold, Counselor.

They think Peter killed Scott.

Based on what?

Well, for openers, your client can't produce

a .38 caliber handgun that's registered in his name.

I already told him I purchased that gun over eight years ago.

I didn't even know it was missing until today.

Lennie.

What have you got?

Red dust.

You been to any construction sites lately, Mr. Wilder?

Peter, don't say a word.

Not a single word.

What do we hear?

Briscoe and Green couldn't find the gun.

Great.

I thought you fixed

this damn thing.

They also couldn't find

any record of Wilder reporting the gun stolen, either.

Still means you don't have a murder weapon.

We've tried homicides without one before.

We'll make the case.

In front of a grand jury

maybe.

You really think a trial jury's going

to believe that Peter Wilder killed his own son?

This guy was happy to see Jessie Lucas charged.

Difficult or not, I think

we have an obligation to prosecute.

We also have a burden of proof.

And since it's going to be

my ass they'll use as target practice

I'd like to test that proof.

Get a preliminary hearing.

Get a judge to back our position.

To agree that there's probable cause to indict Wilder.

I lived with Scott almost two years.

And in that time how would you describe

his relationship with his father?

They didn't speak.

Why?

Objection.

The witness is being asked to testify

as to the mental state of another person.

The witness lived with the victim

for almost two years.

Certainly she knew his mind.

I do think I need a little context here.

I'll allow it if the witness knows.

Scott's father was bigger than life.

Everything about him.

Even the buildings he put up.

Scott always felt like he could never measure up.

No matter what he did.

I think he just wanted to get even that night.

The dust on Mr. Wilder's shoes is from fireclay brick.

What's the significance of that?

It's the same brick used at the Wilshire School.

Our analysis of the dust also showed other variables

unique to the site, including chemicals used

in the sandblasting process.

So the dust on Mr. Wilder's shoes can be identified

with the school.

It's an exact match.

Your evidence indicates

that my client was present at the schoolyard.

Correct.

But when, you don't know.

No.

So had my client gone to the schoolyard

on a subsequent morning doing

what any grieving parent might do--

visiting the site where his child died--

that would be consistent with your findings, wouldn't it?

Yes, it would.

No further questions.

When did you first make contact with Scott Wilder?

About eight months ago

through a private investigator.

Why were you so interested in meeting him?

At the time, I thought Peter Wilder was my father.

Why make contact with his son?

Because he wouldn't see me.

He wouldn't even speak to me.

I had been told about a type of paternity test--

a kinship analysis, and that test can verify

whether two people share a common parent.

What was Scott's reaction meeting you?

He wanted to help.

The night of Scott Wilder's murder

you were with him?

Yes.

Tell the court why.

We had arranged to meet Mr. Wilder

to get money.

Money for what?

To keep Scott and me quiet about the fact he was my father.

And did you in fact meet Mr. Wilder that night?

No. I did not.

Why not?

Because I found out I wasn't his daughter.

And finding out just made me understand

that whatever it was I was looking for from him

I wasn't ever going to find it.

And I needed to get on with my own life.

Did Scott Wilder agree with your decision?

No.

In fact, he got angrier.

See, Scott...

See, Scott thought that he was finally going

to be able to expose his father.

And when I told him that I wasn't his sister

he just couldn't let it go.

He thought that if he did

that his father would just get away with it--

with the affair and everything.

And I just couldn't convince him to leave with me.

And where did all of this take place?

At the Wilshire School.

Scott said that was the place that it had all started.

The beginning of all the disappointments.

And he thought it should end there.

Thank you.

You spent a long time on this quest

to find your father, didn't you?

All my life.

You hired a lawyer and a private investigator.

He wouldn't talk to me.

And you're not one to take no for an answer

are you, Miss Lucas?

Not from my father. No.

But... he wasn't your father.

I didn't know that.

So you called Mr. Wilder, and you told him

that you'd gotten his son to help you.

Yes.

But even when you knew, when you knew

for a fact that he was not your father

that didn't stop you

from trying to blackmail him either, did it?

I didn't go through with it.

But Scott did. Yes.

Scott, the son

who stood to inherit everything, and you--

the rejected child with nothing

but it was him.

He was the one that did it.

That's what we argued about.

You argued?

Yes.

But it wasn't about Scott wanting

to go through with it, was it?

The DA's report indicates that you told them that you

were responsible for Scott's death.

That's not what I meant.

Scott Wilder was in possession

of information that would forever put to rest

your obsession that his father

was yours, that would turn off forever

the money spigot.

You knew that the only way

that your plan could succeed now would be

if Scott were to keep his mouth shut.

And that's why you killed him

didn't you? No!

And now you dare

come into this courtroom

and blame his father for his death.

Haven't you done enough to this family

without dragging them through all of this?

The press won't be kind to us tomorrow.

Wilder's people will see to that.

It won't be the first time

we've taken a hit in the headlines.

First time I have.

If we could get

Wilder to take the stand.

No. He won't testify.

Not now.

Why should he?

His lawyer did all the work for him.

This guy always gets his lawyers

to do the work for him.

And he always plays to win.

What's your point?

Jessie Lucas had been going after that money

for months. Why suddenly fold your hand that night?

And why go down there by yourself?

Something made him change his mind.

Or he never changed his mind at all.

He went down there because he had no intention of paying.

I hope this meeting is to inform us

you're withdrawing charges.

No.

I'm afraid not.

What's this?

Those are the phone records

from your client's place of business.

I'm-I'm sorry. I don't understand.

Phone records of what?

Will you explain it to her, Mr. Wilder

or should we?

Your husband called Brenda Lucas

several times in the days before Scott was killed.

We know she told you Jessie wasn't your daughter

but your son was still willing to betray you, wasn't he?

He was still willing to fleece his old man

and you just couldn't

let him get away with that, could you?

It-it wasn't like that.

You sat there and allowed your lawyer

to accuse that girl of murder.

What else could it be?

You did it.

You killed him.

Listen to me, Johanna.

Listen to what? How to turn our son

out into the streets?

All right, I'm going to need

adjournment to have these records examined.

No. Let's get it over with.

This is not wise, Peter.

What the hell's left to protect, Stephen?

I've been running from this thing

for too long.

I went to meet Scott.

Yes, I was angry

but I thought if I could just talk to him.

Just talk to him, Jo.

Why can't you people just leave it alone?

What happened that night, Mr. Wilder?

He was waiting for me in the schoolyard.

Same way he did when he was a boy.

He was so sure

he had me.

When I told him I knew...

knew the truth...

it was like his whole world just fell in on him.

Like the only reason for his being alive was to show me up.

That's when I saw the gun.

He must have taken it

at some point when he was in the house.

I don't know. He...

At first I thought he was going to shoot me.

But then he...

He pointed it...

He pointed it at his own head.

He started to cry.

He said, uh, "This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?

What you always wanted."

I could see he was going to do it, too.

Just to get back at me.

So stupid.

So I just... reached for it.

But he wouldn't let go.

He...

The gun went off twice.

When I looked down...

his eyes were open.

And God...

God help me, I just picked up the gun, and I ran.

I...

I would never hurt him.

Whatever you may think of me, Johanna.

He was my son.

We gave up the right...

to call him our son

a long time ago.

Can I assume you won't be going forward

with the murder charge?

If we can verify it was a suicide.

One child starved for his recognition.

The other crushed under the weight of his disapproval.

And the father forced to admit complicity

in the son's suicide.

There are worse places than prison.